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Family flair for fantastique

The Bontrager women share a longtime passion for ballet, devoting time to teaching talented dancers at their academy and producing spectacular performances again and again.

By Linda J. Sellers Photos by Collin Andrew

Special Publications

Appeared in print: Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009, page E18

As a little girl, Donna Marisa Bontrager wanted to dance, but her parents thought she should play the piano instead. So her ballet career didn’t begin until she was 18, practically unheard of among professional dancers. Later, when her own daughters, Hannah and Ashley, were young, she was determined they would have the opportunity she’d been denied.

Today, the three Bontrager women — mom and daughters — run their own ballet academy and chamber company, Ballet Fantastique, producing critically acclaimed performances and attracting talented cast members from around the country.

Born to dance

Although she didn’t take her first dance class until she was a student at the University of Oregon, Donna quickly realized it was meant to be. “I fell in love with ballet. I just knew that was what I was supposed to do. It was what was in my heart” she says.

Her natural talent made up for lost time, and Donna went on to dance with several professional ballet companies in New York state. In time, she realized that ballet pedagogy, or teaching the movement of the dance, was her strength — especially combined with her knowledge of design and art. Eventually Donna moved with her young daughters back to Eugene, where it all started for her.

“Before we were born, she knew she wanted us to be dancers,” says Hannah, the older offspring, who is now a driving force of Ballet Fantastique. “But I don’t feel like she’s living vicariously through us. She was never one of those stage moms who follow their kids around. She just wanted us to have this beautiful art form as part of our lives.”

Ashley, coming along behind, felt a little more pressure. “Hannah was born to this, but I went through a few stages of not wanting to dance,” she admits with a laugh. “In high school, I was not that excited about it because it took so much of my time. But I’m finally to the point where I’m thankful that I have something that I’m really good at. It’s nice to have people admire what I do.”

There is much to admire about the Bontrager women. In addition to being professional ballerinas, choreographers and directors of a nonprofit enterprise, all three women have a four-year college degree from the UO. Donna’s background is in architecture, Hannah has a bachelor’s in English, and Ashley recently graduated from the university’s journalism school. But ballet is their passion, and performance is in their blood.

Starting the academy

When the girls were still in high school, the family opened a dance school in a high-ceiling studio in the heart of downtown Eugene. With help from friends, they laid the sprung dance floor, hung out their shingle and started taking in students.

“We would go door to door, asking people if they were interested in ballet classes,” Donna says. “My dream was to have this kind of school.”

By that she means the Vaganova training method, a Russian style of ballet that requires dancers to understand intellectually the concepts they’re learning. She also keeps the classes small so every student gets personal attention.

While earning their high school and college educations and working at the academy, Ashley and Hannah also continued to train with various teachers and dance companies.

As their skills became more advanced, the sisters felt compelled to perform at a professional level. It was no longer enough to choreograph performances for their students.

The idea of starting their own chamber company to create unique world-class performances began to blossom.

To make it happen, the women learned to be much more than dancers. They had to collaborate with musicians, create and distribute posters, write press releases, solicit donations, and recruit dancers, interns and volunteers. At first, they did most of the organizing themselves, with Hannah taking the lead on public relations and Donna overseeing the artistic direction, including making costumes. Ashley was the stabilizing presence who filled in where needed and kept them all grounded. The results: critically acclaimed performances year after year.

The women are quick to express gratitude for the volunteers and business sponsors who have helped them over the years. To give back to the community that has generously supported them, Ballet Fantastique holds fundraisers and offers scholarships to young dancers who otherwise could not afford the classes.

“We believe no talented dancer should be denied the opportunity to train,” Hannah says.

Embracing fate

Despite all the time and effort they pumped into the company during the past nine years, until recently the daughters didn’t see Ballet Fantastique as their future.

“I always entertained the idea of becoming a news anchor,” Ashley says, “but now I’m starting to think I want to get certified in Pilates and fitness. It takes up so much of my life already, it would coincide a lot better for me, and I would still get to spend time with my family.”

Hannah thought she would be an English teacher or possibly a graphic designer. Then Ballet Fantastique started “to really take off” and she realized that the family business is where her heart is.

“Part of it was going to Washington, D.C. and dancing with a ballet company there and realizing that what we do here is just as unique and special,” Hannah explains. “I realized I didn’t have to go anywhere else to be successful.”

For her own future, Donna sees herself continuing to “design dancers” in the academy and increasing the professional level of the chamber company’s performances. For her daughters, though, she simply says, “What’s most important is that they are happy and fulfilled in their lives.”

For information about upcoming performances, go to www.balletfantastique.org.